There exists a wide variety of devices in the prior art comprising ambulatory aids for physically impaired users. These devices are of value to users in many different situations. For example, persons who have been injured or who have undergone surgery frequently use ambulatory aids as part of rehabilitation therapy with a goal of fully restoring their ability to ambulate without any aid. Other severely handicapped persons may use ambulatory aids to assist in ambulation even though there may be no future prospect for independent ambulation. With such handicapped users the devices are useful in that they allow some independent mobility and, by facilitating self ambulation by such persons, they prevent muscle atrophy that would otherwise result with continual non-use. Ambulatory aids thus prevent further deterioration of motor skills and muscle tissue in handicapped persons with limited ability by allowing such persons to use whatever limited abilities they may have to ambulate.
In many of the prior art devices the body weight of the impaired user is partially supported so that it does not have to be fully supported by the user's legs and feet. Well known devices such as walkers and canes provide partial support of an impaired person's body weight while still allowing use of the user's arm and leg motor skills to ambulate. Those devices provide support by allowing the user to partially support his body weight using his hands and arms.
Other devices in the prior art provide means for supporting the user's body weight by suspending him from overhead. Similar to walkers and canes, the full body weight of the user is not supported on the user's legs and feet. One particular overhead supporting device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,569,129 to Seif-Naraghi et al. In the Seif-Naraghi '129 device, cables hanging down from overhead are attached to a body harness fitted to conform to a user's body, the cables being attached to an overhead, Y-shaped member. A user fitted with the harness is suspended from the overhead Y-shaped member such that his feet contact the floor surface. The only physical connection between the user and the device in the Seif-Naraghi '129 patent is the harness and cable connection to the Y-shaped member. The user's arms and hands provide no function with the Seif-Naraghi '129 device, nor is it contemplated that the user's arms and hands engage any part of the Y-shaped member or supporting structure. The harness of the Seif-Naraghi '129 device is fitted to the torso of the user and includes a crotch piece extending between the user's legs upon which much of the user's weight is supported.
The Seif-Naraghi '129 device is a rehabilitation aid providing means for allowing an impaired user to go from partially supporting his weight on his legs and feet to fully supporting his weight on his legs and feet. The Seif-Naraghi '129 device does not, however, allow the user to use his hands and arms to propel the device, the presence of an assistant being necessary to propel and steer the device, as shown in FIGS. 8-10 of the Seif-Naraghi '129 patent.
A problem with the prior art devices such as canes and walkers is that a severely impaired user must often be lifted or assisted to a standing position to use these devices. In addition, walkers and canes can only be used when the impaired user is capable of supporting most of his own weight on his legs and feet and has adequate balance and motor function that allows him to maintain a standing position after being lifted or assisted. Further, the impaired user's motor skills and balance must be adequate to overcome the instability of the device. Such devices cannot be used with a severely impaired user who has very limited function of the motor skills in his legs or who is incapable of supporting most of his own body weight on his legs and feet.
The prior art overhead suspension devices, such as that in the Seif-Naraghi '129 patent discussed herein, while reflecting improvement over canes and walkers, remain disadvantageous because the rehabilitation provided thereby requires the impaired user to go abruptly from having his body weight partially supported by overhead cables to having his full weight supported by his legs and feet. It does not provide, by itself, gradual multiple phase rehabilitation of, first, being supported by overhead cables to, second, being supported by the cables as well as his hands and arms, in addition to his legs and feet, to, third, being supported solely on his legs and feet. Also, the prior art overhead suspension devices such as that disclosed in the Seif-Naraghi '129 patent, do not include any provisions for engagement by the impaired user's hands or arms. As a result, the prior art devices do not allow the impaired user to partially support his weight on his hands and arms or to use his hands, arms and upper body to help push those prior art devices along. The known overhead suspension devices do not include a cage-like frame, hand rests, arm rests, grip handles or any other provision allowing the impaired user to steady or balance himself.
Some prior art overhead suspension devices such as the Seif-Naraghi '129 arrangement disclose a body harness attached to overhead cables. The harness is worn by the user and suspended from the overhead cables to support the weight of the user, the primary point of support being at a crotch member of the harness passing between the user's legs. Such an arrangement is clearly disadvantageous and uncomfortable for the user, and may even cause additional injuries such as chafing due to frictional rubbing between the user's legs. These body harnesses having through crotch pieces are disadvantageous for another reason. Besides being uncomfortable and presenting a risk of possible injury, these harnesses have the added disadvantage of having to be completely removed for a user to use the bathroom because of the obstruction presented by the through crotch piece.
The prior art overhead suspension devices such as the Seif-Naraghi '129 arrangement are thus disadvantageous because they do not include a cage-like frame allowing an impaired user greater balance and stability by being engageable by the user's arms and hands. The cage-like frame would also provide a means for allowing the user to self propel the device using his hands, arms and upper body. A cage-like frame would further allow the device to be steered by the impaired user by utilizing his hands and arms to turn the device in a particular direction.
There is, thus, a need for an ambulatory aid device wherein a wheel mounted frame provides means for supporting an impaired user's body weight engageable by his hands and arms, so that his body weight does not have to be fully supported from overhead cables. Such a device has the added benefit of allowing gradual rehabilitation of an impaired user, wherein the impaired user's body weight is, first, predominately supported by overhead cables to, second, being supported by the overhead cables as well as the user's hands and feet to, third, being supported by the feet only. A wheel mounted frame with hand rests or hand rails or hand grips is advantageous because it allows an impaired user to use his hands and arms to balance and steady himself, while also allowing him to use his hands and arms to push the device along. It further gives the user the ability to steer the device using his hands and arms.
An overhead suspension ambulatory aid device is also needed utilizing a body harness wherein the necessity for a crotch piece is eliminated. The present invention overcomes the obstacles and disadvantages of the prior art and provides such an improved ambulatory aid device for impaired persons.